It's Party Time...

Ya Hoo!!!  It's finally time for the "Bead Soup Blog Party."  

Again, a big thank you to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for hosting

this party.  You can Click Here to see the blog hop list..

My 'Bead Soup Blog Party' partner is Valerie Norton of Hot Fused Glass.  This is the

wonderful 'Soup' she sent me.

And now to end the suspense, this is what I created:

 

The pendant that Valerie sent me was so beautiful, that I didn't want to make the necklace too busy.  I wanted the pendant to really stand out.  The clasp and the bezel for the pendant were both 'hard anodized' copper and I wanted to stick with the very rustic, elemental feel of that.  So picking through my 'Soup,' I chose the Venetian glass beads and a few of the spacer beads.  From my stash, I chose a piece of black Greek leather and a length of chain that was similar to the finish of the clasp.

I used the leather to string the Venetian glass, spacer beads and the pendant.  I really wanted the

pendant to be showcased.  Separating the clasp, I linked the chain to one side of the clasp and then used the loop tied on one side of the leather to attach the other side of the clasp.

I think my necklace turned out fantastic and I can't wait to wear it.  It's one that I think is truly a statement piece. 

Thank you Valerie, for sending me such wonderful 'Soup' ingredients.

Please go out and follow the above link to see all of the other 'Bead Soup's.'

I wish Martha lived here......

Well, I had great hopes at the end of my last post.  I've managed to continue my dejunking of our home.

I tell you, clutter breeds.  But I'm staying one step ahead of it.  Now I have got to get my husband on

board.  He is definately a keeper and I'm not.  I think he feels that if you buy it once, you should keep

it til you die so that you don't have to buy it again.  Or somebody might need it someday.   I've got to

work on changing that mentality, because our garage has become a staging area for Goodwill or a

storage unit for our posterity.  I am convinced clutter causes stress.  I know I get stressed everytime I

go into our garage.

Bead Soup Blog Party

 On the brighter side, I've exchanged a few e-mails with my Bead Soup Blog Party partner

Valerie Norton of  Hot Fused Glass.  Check out her blog and her

Etsy Shop Artfull Adornments by Valerie.  I had quite a bit of fun putting

together her "Bead Soup" and hope she likes it.  A big thank you to Lori Anderson of

Pretty Things for hosting this wonderful blog party.  I can't wait to see what

everyone else creates with their 'Soup.'

I've been busy doing some crafting that is totally unnecessary, but totally fun. 

The next holiday is Valentine's Day and while I was out at Michaels Craft

Store, I found these really cute scrapbook embellishments that I just had to have.

So I thought I would decoupage these cute little cutouts onto small pieces of painted wood.  Sprinkle

a little of Martha Stewart's Glitter over them while the decoupage is still wet. (I have never used this product before, but it is absolutely the best.  It is so fine and powdery.  It adds the perfect glisten without being obvious like coarser glitters.)

After the decoupage has dried, I used a tacky glue around the edges to attach pieces of ribbon to

frame the little Valentine's.  I used pieces of ribbon I had to create a loop and bow to hang these

adorable little Valentine ornaments.  I just love making things that give me instant gratification.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.  Hopefully, I'll have my Etsy Shop Everyday Gypsy Designs filled this weekend.